Winston, the French Bulldog, won Best in Show at the 21st Annual National Dog Show presented by Purina. With this win, Winston became the first French Bulldog ever to win the competition’s top prize. The three-year-old beat hundreds of dogs to win the prize, which was presented by The Kennel Club of Philadelphia.
Like every year, the show aired on Thanksgiving following Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The National Dog Show is also the most-watched dog show in the country, for which some dogs have trained for years to win the national title.
Claire, a Scottish Deerhound, won the title for two consecutive years in 2020 and 2021.
Over 20 million people saw Winston win the National Dog Show this year
According to Purina, the presenter of the show, approximately 20 million people in the country watched the show. Simply put, 20 million people saw Winston defeating hundreds of other dogs and moving towards triumph.
Talking about Winston, Vicki Seiler-Cushman, the judge of the 2022 National Dog Show’s Best In Show, said:
“He is a show dog with personality and beauty and a perfect fit for the breed. He has a razzle-dazzle that says, ‘I am here to win tonight.’ You can just tell that he can also go home and be the perfect pet.”
This is not the first time that the dog has won this title. With the National Dog Show 2022 win, the French Bulldog now has over 78 titles to his name. He is currently the number one ranked all-breed canine in the US.
At the same time, the dog has also won the 2022 National Dog Show’s Best in group prize for the Non-Sporting group. With the French Bulldog, there were six other canines who were in the show’s final round.
- Sloane, the Irish Water Spaniel of the Sporting Group
- Cooper, the English Toy Spaniel from the Toy Group
- Reus, the Alaskan Malamute from the Working Group
- Trouble, the American Staffordshire Terrier from the Terrier Group
- Nate, the Treeing Walker Coonhound from the Hound Group
- River, the German Shepherd from the Herding Group
The second-best award was given to Cooper, the English Toy Spaniel who took home the 2022 National Dog Show’s Reserve Best.
The show has multiple categories, and the dogs compete against others, irrespective of their breeds, to determine the best in the breed. After that, all the winners of the particular category compete against each other at the group stage – Sporting, Hound, Working, Terrier, Toy, Non-Sporting, and Herding.
The seven best from these categories will later move towards the main title and compete to win the best dog title in the show.
With his win at the 21st Annual National Dog Show, Winston broke Claire, the Scottish Deerhound’s record of consecutive wins. However, Claire retired from the competition after winning the 2021 title.
